Pope Blesses Skiing

During a visit to the Vatican by Italian ski instructors, Pope Benedict said: ‘skiing makes us feel small and returns us to our true dimension as creatures.’

Pope Benedict told the instructors, who came to the Vatican dressed in full ski kit, that their coaching on the slopes helped to instill good Christian values such as steadfastness, respect of rules and determination in facing and overcoming difficulties.

Pope John Paul II, Benedict’s predecessor, was also a keen skier. A ski jacket of John Paul was donated to an American Catholic high school after his death and may become a Holy relic if he is granted sainthood.